Fireplace damper



Sept.,- 8, 1936. K. F. TRIGGS FIREPLACE DAMPER Filed Dec. 19, 19 34 INVENTOR. KENNETH F 776/005.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 8, 1936 UNITED STATEE PATET GFFICE FIREPLA E DAMPER V 'KennethF. Triggs, Huntington, Ind. Application December'19, 1934, Serial No. 758,150 3 Claims (01. 126-288) This invention relates to a fire place damper structure.

The chief object of the invention is to improve fire place damper structures in three respects:

1. To provide an external control for the damper plate and which control is supported by the lintel, thereby eliminating the necessity of extending the control mechanism through the brick work of the fire place and making it possible to 10 install control mechanisms after the damper has been set in placeand the brick work finished.

.2. To provide a simple counterweighted operating mechanism for the damperplate, and

3. To provide a simple pivotal support for the damper plate, said support to be operatively associated with the damper plate control mechamsm.

' The chief features of the invention consist in the formation of a fire place damper construction, whereby the aforesaid triple object is ac:- cfomplished and other features of the invention will be pointed out more specifically hereinafter. The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawing and the following description and claims. H In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a fire place construction with the damper structure embodied thereinJ Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view through the damper structure, certain portions of the operating and pivotal support mechanism being shown in elevation.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the right hand end of the damper structure, parts being broken away to illustrate the before mentioned operating parts in elevation.

In the drawing it! indicates a hearth having an ash dump opening H discharging into an ash receiving recess E2. The opening ll may be provided with the dump plate I23 and the supporting border structure is. The fire place includes the side wall M, the back wall [5 arched as at it, the front face of the fire place ll, this face of g the fire place having the usual opening therein,

and the lintel I 8 which supports the face brick work above the opening. The fire place may have a mantel l9 and includes the flue 20, which is connected at its bottom end to chamber 2!, to which the throat of the damper structure discharges.

The damper structure includes not only the side flanges 22 but a rear flange 23. The opening formed by said flanges and the lintel i8 is defined by a throat, the sides of which are tapered inwardly and upwardly. Herein the numeral 24 indicates the front portion of the throat, 25 one side of the throat, 26 the back portion of the latter terminating in an arcuately, upwardly and forwardly directed extension 27. The side wall 25 is extended as at 28; The side wall 25, except for extension 28, the opposite side wall and the front wall 26 of the throat, all terminate in a plane indicated generally by the numeral 29- see Figs. 2 and 3. The damper plate is indicated by the numeral 30. 10

The opposite side wall is similar to wall 25, and the damper plate and opposite side wall are provided. with any suitable coaxial pivotal connection for pivotally supporting the damper plate inoperative position relative to the throat disl5 charge.

The throat'side 25 supports an arcuate bearing 3! which may becylindrical, but herein'is shown including'approximately 270 'of bearing with its open end 32'opening downwardly. An arcuate or 20 partially cylindrical concentric bearing of almost the same degree of angularity is carried by the damper plate and partially envelops the first mentioned bearing carried by the side wall of the throat. The numeral 33 indicates said encircling 25 bearing. It is similarly positioned. In this way this bearing is relatively self cleaning; 7

Rigid with the encircling portion 33 is a flange 34 that is substantially transverse to the axis of the bearing. The bearing axis, of course, is 30 coincident with the axis of the first mentioned pivotal support for the opposite end of the damper plate. Extending laterally and in a plane parallel to the pivotal axis of the bearing is another flange portion 35 which is suitably secured 35 as at 36 to the damper plate 3t. Extending transversely of flanges 34 and 35, and herein shown integral with both, is a web 31.

In open position the damper valve is thrown to the rear of the opening in the throat, provid- 40 ing full clear opening in the throat and also providing a deflector for down currents of air that are always present in a fire place.

A single member 38 has one end 39 suitably secured to said web 37 as by the bolt 40 and nut 45 ll. The flanges 35 and 34 together with the web 31 form, as it were, a three sided pocket, and herein the end 39 of the member is shown square for cooperation therewith. This prevents tilting of the member 38 about the bolt axis. 50

Member 38 at its opposite end, includes a counterweight 42 and as shown clearly in Fig. 2, the

7 end 39 is at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the main body portion of member 38.

The closed position of the damper plate is 55 2 shown in Fig. 2, and it will be observed that the counterweight 42 has oppositely directed portions transverse to the longitudinal axis of member 38. The rearward portion of the counterweight underlies the flange 23. The transverse portion of counterweight 42 provides means for poker engagement for operating the damper valve when the face control is not in use which may occur if shaft 56 becomes damaged or the connections associated therewith require readjustment or repair. In thefull open position, the oppositely laterally directed portion of counterweight 42 is positioned immediately under the lintel l8; Thus, substantially complete clearance is provided for air and smoke passage with respect to the counterweight through the throat and body portion.

To prevent interference between the counterweight mechanism or arm 38 and the manual control mechanism, the member 38 includes an arm extending laterally of said member 38 and intermediate its ends. Said arm includes the inwardly offset portion 43, connected by the portion 44 to said member 38 and terminating in a portion 45 spaced from member 38 and oifset, as shown clearly in Fig. 3, from the portion 44.

The portion 45 terminates in an aperture 46 constituting an anchorage for an angular end 41 of a link 48 and herein the link isshown permanently connected thereto by a washer 49 and cotter key 58. Any other form of retainer may be provided. The opposite end of the link 48 includes an angular portion'5l which is receivable by the aperture 52 in one end of an arm 53 of a lever. The angular end 5| is similarly secured to the arm 53by the washer 54 and cotter key I55. Any other form of retainer may be utilized. It will be observed that the angular ends 41 and 5! of the link 48 are directed substantially at right angles to each other but in spaced planes.

The arm 53 terminates in an elongated sleeve portion 55 which is telescopically associated with a rock shaft 56 and is adjustably mounted thereon and rigidly secured thereto by a set screw 51. The shaft 55 extends through a tubular bearing 58 herein shown integral and in depending relation relative to the lintel [8.

The projecting end of the shaft 56 has suitably secured thereto, as at 59, a crank handle 60. When the crank handle is positioned at to that shown in Fig. 1, the damper plate will be closed and parts will be positioned as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. When the handle is positioned downwardly and the counterweight is swung forwardly, as shown in Fig. 1, the damper control plate is in open position.

It is to be understood that the friction of the damper plate relative to its pivotal supports and the friction in the bearing 58 with respect to the rock shaft 56, is sufficient to hold the damper in the adjusted position intermediate either of the two extreme positions illustrated or in either one of said extreme positions, the counterweight serving to balance the weight of the damper plate, since the pivotal support, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 2, is not medianly positioned with respect to said plate.

The invention claimed is:-

1. In a fire place throat structure having a wall and a damper plate, the combination of a pivot bearing extending inwardly from the wall below the plate, an arcuate bearing portion depending from the plate and partially encircling thepivot bearing primarily between the latter and the plate, the gap between the ends of the arcuate bearing being atthe lower portion for self cleaning of the bearing.

2. In a fire place throat structure having a wall and a damper plate, the combination of a pivot bearing extending inwardly from the wall below the plate, an arcuate bearing portion depending from the plate and partially encircling the pivot bearing primarily between the latter and the plate, the gap between the ends of the arcuate bearing being at the lower portion for self cleaning of the bearing, and a support portion rigid with the bearing portion and to provide a connection for damper operating means.

3. In a fire place throat structure having a damper plate and a wall pivotally supporting the plate, the combination of a trifurcated member one arm of which has means for connection to a plate tilting mechanism, another arm of which is a counterweight and the third arm of which constitutes the connection to the damper plate.

KENNETH F. TRIGGS. 

